The 88th Precinct Community Council Welcomes Its New NYPD Commanding Officer

“Bullets don’t have names on them,” said NYPD Captain John Buttacovoli, the new Commanding Officer of the 88th precinct.

The 88th Precinct Community Council welcomed its new Commanding Officer to address gun violence and transportation concerns during its monthly meeting on May 17 at the French Speaking Baptist Church at 209 Clermont Avenue in Fort Greene.

“My focus has always been and always will be on violence,” said Buttacovoli, who comes from the 75th precinct in East New York.

The year before Buttacovoli arrived at the 88th precinct, shots were fired on Atlantic Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, 196 Clinton Street, and during a dispute outside the Habana Outpost bar, with no reported fatalities in each incident.

These events are what Buttacovoli calls “very concerning.” He says with the help of the community, police retrieved two firearms and made arrests with search warrants.

Buttacovoli, a 19-year NYPD veteran, has ties to Fort Greene because he served as a lieutenant in the past and considers himself a part of the community. Now, he’s back in central Brooklyn encouraging residents to share intelligence with the officers to keep Fort Greene safe.

“It’s extremely important to have dialogue between the police and the community,” said Delia Hunley-Adossa, 88th Precinct Council President, who has served as a community activist for more than 20 years. “It gives us that community tie we need with one another,” she added.

But Buttacovoli says the NYPD faces another challenge citywide — a spike in narcotic sales.

“Heroin is making a huge comeback,” Buttacovoli told the Fort Greene Focus. “It’s related to painkillers.”

He says, it initially starts with people getting hooked on painkillers then gradually moving onto heroin since it’s cheaper and has a long lasting effect.

Last year, Police Commissioner William Bratton addressed the same heroin concern to the Daily News Editorial Board, citing that heroin deaths outnumbered murders in New York for the second straight year in 2014.

This February, the Drug Enforcement Administration published a report indicating that drug traffickers are targeting New York by providing heroin to street level drug dealers for feeding people’s addiction.

The council also mentioned the proposed Clinton Avenue bike lane. In April that the Department of Transportation plans to make Clinton Avenue a one-way street with a bike lane addition. Residents say the agency failed to communicate with locals and instead expanded its outreach on social media.

Buttacovoli wants to bridge the gap between the DOT and Fort Greene residents by inviting a transportation official to address questions in the next June meeting.

Bicycle accidents have been a safety issue for the Fort Greene neighborhood for years, and Executive Officer, Captain Noema Ioffe says bicyclists are no different than drivers so they must obey the rules of the road.

“One-way streets are the most dangerous for bicyclists,” Ioffe said, referring to a bicyclist who lost their life in a recent crash with a motorist. “One life lost is one too many, and we are working to bringing those collisions to zero.”

The 88th Precinct Community Council meets every third Tuesday of every month. Location varies and meeting time is 7:00 p.m.

For more information on the Council visit: http://www.88thprecinctcommunitycouncil.org/
Follow the NYPD 88th Precinct on Twitter: @NYPD88Pct